In honor of World Oceans Day today, Carnival Corporation has announced that for the second year in a row last year, they supporting The Nature Conservancy to continue their efforts to protect the world’s oceans and seas. As part of achieving their 2020 sustainability goals, Carnival is providing a $2.5 million gift over a five-year period to the organization, which began in 2014.
Highlights from The Nature Conservancy’s initiatives last year include:
- Helping the Bahamas expand marine protection areas by over 11 million acres.
- Supporting the establishment of National Protected Area Trust Funds in seven Caribbean countries, which can be used to dress specific conservation challenges as they arise.
- Advancing marine protection efforts at Los Haitises National Park and Samaná Bay in the Dominican Republic.
- Launching an Atlas of Ocean Wealth, supported by multiple international online tools, detailed maps, marine life databases, and other resources to educate and inspire community leaders engaged in ocean planning.
In the past year, through the support of Carnival, The Nature Conservancy was able to generate new data about coral reef conditions throughout the Caribbean, as well as research on the success of conservation efforts tied to oyster reefs, and new maps of fish production connected to Caribbean mangrove growths.
Carnival Corporation also hosted The Nature Conservancy’s 2016 Mapping Ocean Wealth conference in January at its Miami headquarters. At the conference, conservationists from around the world came together to discuss ocean sustainability initiatives. As a result, The Nature Conservancy’s data on mapping ocean resources is now displayed in The World Bank’s Spatial Agent, it’s decision-support tool for economists and government leaders to identify the most pressing social and environmental issues.
“The Nature Conservancy truly appreciates Carnival Foundation’s support for our global and Caribbean-specific oceans conservation work,” said Maria Damanaki, global managing director for The Nature Conservancy’s Ocean Program. “Carnival Foundation’s five-year commitment to preserving the world’s vital marine resources – and the many benefits they provide – has a major impact on our efforts.”
